Charles Brenner (psychiatrist)
Encyclopedia
Charles Brenner (1914–2008) was an American psychoanalyst who served as President of the New York Psychoanalytic Society, and is perhaps best known for his contributions to drive theory
, the structure of the mind, and conflict theory
.
, of Psychoanalytic Concepts and the Structural Theory, a once controversial, now standard advanced text'.
Eric Berne
considered that on the question ' What is psychoanalysis? Two of the best books...are An Elementary Textbook of Psychoanalysis, by Charles Brenner, and Freud's Outline of Psychoanalysis '; and Brenner himself acknowledged that probably 'my most significant influence was as author of An Elementary Textbook '.
'One of the best descriptions of the superego is found in Charles Brenner's classic text, An Elementary Textbook ', where Brenner notes that '"contrary to the ordinary meaning of 'conscience', we understand that the functions of the superego are often largely or completely unconscious"'.
'. In his article '"Working Alliance, Therapeutic Alliance, and Transference" (1979), Brenner challenged the whole notion that transference and "the real relationship" can be separated, attacking the concepts of 'the "working alliance" or the "therapeutic alliance" as a kind of shady side deal that...robs the patient of the full use of the analytic instrumentality'.
Brenner points out that 'it is presumptious to act the anaylst, unbidden, in a social or family situation. It is a technical lapse to be other than an analyst in one's relations with an analytic patient....As an example, for his analyst to express sympathy for a patient who has just lost a close relative may make it more difficult than it would otherwise be for the patient to express pleasure or spite or exhibitionistic satisfaction over the loss'. Janet Malcolm
comments that 'this is taking respect for individual experience and generosity of spirit toward human frailty very far indeed'.
In his final development of conflict theory, 'Brenner's edifice is built on an elaboration of Arlow's (1969) concept "fantasy function" and Freud's (1894) concept "compromise formation"'; and its mixture of innovation and conservation meant that 'subsequently to 1994, Brenner can be characterized as...someone who breaks new ground without abandoning tradition'. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, 'Charles Brenner's conflict theory is the leading analytic theory taught in psychoanalytic institutes, throughout the United States'.
His late contribution, conflict theory, has also been severely criticised: 'conflict theory cannot be reconciled with neuroscience
, or the fundings of classical psychoanalysis and analytical psychology
'.
Drive theory
The terms drive theory and drive reduction theory refer to a diverse set of motivational theories in psychology. Drive theory is based on the principle that organisms are born with certain physiological needs and that a negative state of tension is created when these needs are not satisfied...
, the structure of the mind, and conflict theory
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
.
Early contributions
Called 'the intransigent purist of American psychoanalyis', Brenner was 'the author of a forbidding Elementary Textbook of Psychoanalysis and, with Jacob ArlowJacob Arlow
Jacob Arlow was an American teacher, scholar, and clinician who served as president of the American Psychoanalytic Association and the New York Psychoanalytic Institute. Arlow was an editor of the Psychoanalytic Quarterly from 1972 to 1979...
, of Psychoanalytic Concepts and the Structural Theory, a once controversial, now standard advanced text'.
Eric Berne
Eric Berne
Eric Berne was a Canadian-born psychiatrist best known as the creator of transactional analysis and the author of Games People Play.-Background and education:...
considered that on the question ' What is psychoanalysis? Two of the best books...are An Elementary Textbook of Psychoanalysis, by Charles Brenner, and Freud's Outline of Psychoanalysis '; and Brenner himself acknowledged that probably 'my most significant influence was as author of An Elementary Textbook '.
'One of the best descriptions of the superego is found in Charles Brenner's classic text, An Elementary Textbook ', where Brenner notes that '"contrary to the ordinary meaning of 'conscience', we understand that the functions of the superego are often largely or completely unconscious"'.
Technique
'Brenner is known for his advocacy of a fanatically meticulous, aseptic analytic technique and for his hard-line theoretical position...[in] ego-psychologyEgo psychology
Ego psychology is a school of psychoanalysis rooted in Sigmund Freud's structural id-ego-superego model of the mind.An individual interacts with the external world as well as responds to internal forces. Many psychoanalysts use a theoretical construct called the ego to explain how that is done...
'. In his article '"Working Alliance, Therapeutic Alliance, and Transference" (1979), Brenner challenged the whole notion that transference and "the real relationship" can be separated, attacking the concepts of 'the "working alliance" or the "therapeutic alliance" as a kind of shady side deal that...robs the patient of the full use of the analytic instrumentality'.
Brenner points out that 'it is presumptious to act the anaylst, unbidden, in a social or family situation. It is a technical lapse to be other than an analyst in one's relations with an analytic patient....As an example, for his analyst to express sympathy for a patient who has just lost a close relative may make it more difficult than it would otherwise be for the patient to express pleasure or spite or exhibitionistic satisfaction over the loss'. Janet Malcolm
Janet Malcolm
Janet Malcolm is an American writer and journalist on staff at The New Yorker magazine. She is the author of Psychoanalysis: The Impossible Profession , In the Freud Archives and The Journalist and the Murderer ....
comments that 'this is taking respect for individual experience and generosity of spirit toward human frailty very far indeed'.
Late revisions
Brenner has been notable 'for his courageous willingness on more than one occasion to alter accepted psychoanalytic paradigms' - something perhaps most apparent with his late revision of Freud's structural theory, culminating in his article "Conflict, Compromise Formation, and Structural Theory"(2002) which he himself recently termed 'the most useful and valuable contribution I have been able to make to the field of psychoanalysis'.In his final development of conflict theory, 'Brenner's edifice is built on an elaboration of Arlow's (1969) concept "fantasy function" and Freud's (1894) concept "compromise formation"'; and its mixture of innovation and conservation meant that 'subsequently to 1994, Brenner can be characterized as...someone who breaks new ground without abandoning tradition'. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, 'Charles Brenner's conflict theory is the leading analytic theory taught in psychoanalytic institutes, throughout the United States'.
Criticism
'Unfortunately, dialectical interchange was not Charlie's forte; he tended to be dismissive of points of view different from his own. As a result, there was a limit to the extent to which his thinking evolved'.His late contribution, conflict theory, has also been severely criticised: 'conflict theory cannot be reconciled with neuroscience
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
, or the fundings of classical psychoanalysis and analytical psychology
Analytical psychology
Analytical psychology is the school of psychology originating from the ideas of Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung. His theoretical orientation has been advanced by his students and other thinkers who followed in his tradition. Though they share similarities, analytical psychology is distinct from...
'.
Further reading
- Charles Brenner, "Modern Conflict Theory"
- Charles Brenner, The Mind in Conflict (New York 1982)